Jaks & Jenica

Pictures

2010-10-14T09:24:00.001-07:00

I finally added pictures to my last two posts....

Family Vaca - Hooray!

2010-09-25T05:09:00.000-07:00

I am proud to say that the Jenson Clan (all six of us plus a child) went on our first family vacation since 1998! How pathetic is it to go 12 years between vacations? I know. We took off for a few days of sun and bliss to Lake Powell. We went back to our old school ways of camping rather than the houseboat days like we were used to. I have to say though, I absolutely loved it! We skied a little, wake boarded and surfed a little, and relaxed a lot! It was nice to see my parents finally take a break. Justin and I and our better halves have been fortunate enough to have gone to Powell multiple times since '98, but we definitely enjoyed toting along our parentals. I will post some pics some day. :)

Nixon and Miranda

Soaking up the rays

Chillin' in the beautiful canyons of Lake Powell

Our family

Nixon, like most kids, did not like his life jacket. I don't blame him!

Me and my sis-in-law

We had just climbed the giant sand hill

Jaks surfing

Me skiing

I have learned a good lesson this week. Never burn a bridge. Be the bigger person. Turn the other cheek. You never know what will come of your positive actions instead of stooping to a lower standard.

From March to August

2010-08-14T01:44:00.001-07:00

I am not even going to start with the laundry list of reasons why I haven't blogged, or how it has been so long since I blogged, or say that I am going to start blogging more often (been there, done that). Tonight is just an update. An update on some fun moments in life over the past few months, and maybe someday soon I will post some pictures from all our fun. But for now....

The weekends in March consisted of racing motocross. Yey! I raced at one of my favorite tracks in good ol' Delta, Utah. Took home a second place trophie. Then it was off to Mesquite, Nevada. Mesquite was so fun, not only because the track is awesome, but because Jaks and Justin bothraced. For Justin, it was his first time racing in over seven or so years. And for Jaks, it was his first race EVER. I was so proud of them both. They did so good. And this time, we had some additions to our fan club to cheer us on: Nixon and Miranda, as well as Grandma Jenson and Great-Grandma Pearl.

Justin, Jaks, Me, and Dad

Justin

Jaks

Next...10 days in Paris! Need I say more? It was an unbelivable vacation. My first trip to Europe. Mine and Jaks' first trip alone (no family, no freinds) since we our honeymoon!!!! (Unless you count a weekend to Vegas. Pathetic, I know.) So many fun things to see and do, great food, and most of all, WONDERFUL company! Jaks is quite a die-hard traveler! Favorite part? Pain au fromage (cheese bread!)~~I know, weird coming from the girl who hates cheese!~~from "our" bakery. We stopped their every morning on our way to the Metro. Also loved being on the towers of Notre Dame when they rang the infamous bells. The largest one is only rung twice a year, easter and Christmas, and we were on the top of the tower when it happened! Also loved watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night with its thousands of twinkling lights right from our hotel window. Museums, shopping, food (of course), segway tour, boat tour, more food, cathedrals, first-class seats, hundreds of pictures, many laughs and good times later...we had the best time! So lucky to have been able to finally go. Thanks for the amazing Christmas present, babe!

The amazing landscape of Paris

Sacre-Coure Basilica, a Roman Catholic Church

My Traveling Mate

In front of Hotel de Invalides

This was out first day in Paris. Of course, we went to see the Eiffel Tower!

The gardens at Versailles, the most amazing chateau!

I loved this time of night there is Paris. It was beautiful just after the sun set!

And what did I do a week after our return from Paris??? Another vacation. This time with my girlfriends! One of the best trips I have ever been on, the best girls' trip I have ever been on. Me and seven other gal pals (Katrina~my roomie :), Lindsay, Krystal, Shante, Kaitlin, Megan, and Carly). Definitely missed our girls who couldn't make it! What is better than a week-long cruise from Florida, porting in Honduras, Grand Cayman, Mexico, and Princess Cays??? Not much. I can't decide what was best: hanging out by the pool and beach in the hot sun for seven days, our adventures on zip lines and vespa scooters (in a hail storm :)), all-night dancing escapades at Sky Walker club, crazy dance-offs with strangers (Go Ted!) that left us rolling on the ground until 3 AM, hilarious videotaping that I HAVE TO post one of these days, 20-course meals nearly every night, "girl talk" 24 hours a day, and much more! Thanks for the last minute idea, Meg! And thanks to all my girls who made it the time of our lives! :)

Sting Ray City, Grand Cayman

Our Cruise Ship

Our first formal dinner night

Soaking up the sun rays as we set sail

My roomie, Katrina

Off to an excursion in Mexico

Celebrating Kryt's 23rd Birthday!

At the beach in Honduras

Riding the zip lines through the tropics of Honduras

Jazmine, the monkey

Us with our servers for the week

Dancing at the Skywalker Night Club

The food was amazing on the cruise!

Our Vespa adventure in Mexico

What a fun vacation!

Straight from the airport to Rice Eccles Stadium to watch the AMA Monster Energy Supercross with the fam, in the rain! maybe even a little snow!

The next weekend to Vegas to compete in the Mini Moto Supercross at the Orleans Arena. Some bad luck, but raced well. No injuries, no falls, which is always my hope. We camped out in our Ritz on wheels. :) I definietly had an amazing pit crew that weekend! Also went to the final AMA Supercross race in Vegas. Not as fun without Chad Reed competing. I don't ever lust after many guys, but Chad Reed is one of them, and yes, Jaks is fully aware!

Nixon loves motorcycles

What a cute little family!

Getting ready for my main event

Love this little pit bike

It was really fun to camp out this time instead of staying in a hotel

Nixon loves his grandpa's hat and glasses

Nixon's headphones to block out the loud motorcycles

May was filled with "house drama". In a nut shell: found our "dream house" that we had been searching for for a year, offer accepted, house mysteriously goes to auction, house sold back to bank, Jaks and Jen walk away without the house but check the MLS for its listing 3 times a day for over a month (pure dedication and persistance:)), house goes back up for sale, Jaks and Jen offer next morning, offer excepted 1 day later, six weeks later.....Jaks and Jen move into their first home!!!! So exciting. More about that later.

After 5 1/2 months of strict training, I ran in my first race in June, Ragnar! 188 miles from Logan to Park City, a team of 12 hot chicks that placed 21 out of some 200+ all-women teams. Thanks to Lindsay, my "coach" for all of our Saturday runs, torturous speed training, and endless motivation. Definitley hard. Despite all my training, I still felt unprepared for the experience. I loved all the opportunities I had to run with my best friends though. I loved the challenge, and I loved the feeling of accomplishment that came after. I wish I could say I kept up the 25 miles a week of running, but I haven't! A bummed knee and a missing toe nail (gross, I know. Jaks calls it my nub!) is all I have to prove of it now. Can't wait for next year, girls! Already signed up for team Sweet Cheek's second debut!

My support system at the finish line

Flowers... My favorite!

Sweet Cheeks finishing in 21st place (out of hundreds of teams), not bad!

Awesome team mates...

Victory! 188 miles and about 30 hours behind us!

Some of the beautiful terrain we ran through

Van 1, (from the left) Christy, Kaitlin, Sarah, Jenica, Heather, and Amy

My grandparents came to watch me finish my last leg

My van buddies (and you can see our awesome van in the background)

My BFs who were all part of the team (Kelsie, Sarah, Kaitlin, Carly, Megan, Lindsay, Jenica)

Both vans meeting up at the exchange point

Van 1 starting their seconds legs, running through the night

My first leg, all up hill in the heat of the afternoon

Getting ready to cheer on our team mate, Christy, after she finished a big hill

Kaitlin and me at the starting line, Day 1

The rest of June and into July was occupied with "Parade stuff". That's right, second year directing the Draper Days Parade. Was it more fun the second year? Not really. Will I do it again next year? Probably not. I would have never guessed how much work, how many long nights, it takes to plan a parade. And no matter how much preparation goes into it, you always have issues the morning of the parade. If I am trying to be optimistic though, it was a good learning expereince. I couldn't have done it without my family: Jaks, dad, mom, Miranda, Justin, Beejer, and new this year to the helpers, Jeri and Jedd! What a wonderful committee!

Also in July, I hung out with my dear friend, Carrie Underwood. :) ha ha She is my fav! Besides Destiny's Child when I was in middle school, I have never been super obsesed with a music group/singer this much. I LOVE her. Her voice is like silk. Her look is flawless. I want to be Carrie Underwood! She performed at the Stadium of Fire. Kelsie's brilliant idea (I can't believe I didn't think of it myself) was to sneak down to the field and try to get up to the front of the stage. So, we ditched our husbands, her sweet little one, and the rest of our friends, to figure out a way to get through security. Solution: run, run fast.....and don't look back! We made it. All the way to the eighth row! After basically yelling out the words to all of our favorite songs as we so ecstatically jumped up and down like giddy 13-year-olds at a Miley Cyrus concert, we ran back to sit with our group just in time for fireworks. Splendid night!

End of July and into August: pure excitement as we closed on our house and moved in! We have lived there for a week now and have enjoyed every second of moving and organizing. It has been so fun! I will not deny how sad I was the night we pulled away from the carriage house (my parent's guest house we have been living in since we got married 4 years ago) with the last batch of our clothes and toiletries. The guest house was where our marriage started, where we enjoyed the excitement of being newlyweds, where we experienced the hard times of being full-time college students with full-time+ (is there a term for being more than full-time?) jobs. We were so blessed to have such a wonderful place to call home, to have such a great ward to be a part of, to have such generous next-door neighbors (you know who you are, mom and dad)! We could not have been able to buy such a beautiful home without having a place like that to live so we could save up. Although I was so sad to go, there is so much excitement ahead of us. It is time for us to spread our wings and move on to the next step in life. I love our home. I love Jaks, and I am so grateful for the countless blessings we have received in our lives, and especially during the last few months.

Packing up the last of our stuff at the guest house, trying to pretend like I hadn't been crying :(

Our first home. :)

Aches and Pains

2010-03-08T21:28:00.000-08:00

So, as most of you know, I have never been one to be spontaneous. I am a planner. I have to plan everything. I have to weigh all my options, treat every decision as if life depended on it, know my schedule way in advance (and not deviate from it)...type A personality. However, this weekend I was very spontaneous; here's how it went:

5:00 PM Friday: Planning on going practicing (for Motocross) in the AM...most likely in Tooele. Decide to look up the website for a track in Delta to see what their practice hours are. See that they are having a race this weekend. Ask Jaks if he wants to go. Pick up and leave work so we can get things ready.

7:30 PM: Decide a girl's night with my friends sounds way more fun, and necessary, then getting things ready for tomorrow. Meet them for dinner, lots of laughs, preliminary planning of a girl's trip, and frozen yogurt from Red Mango.

10:30 PM: Go home to start getting everything ready. Jaks had already been working on the bikes and continued to do so while I packed food, drinks, gear, and magazines for the little road trip.

12:30 AM Saturday: Went to bed and set my alarm for 4:00 AM! I'm crazy! I must love the sport.

4:00 AM: Get up and get ready! No makeup. Brushed hair and teeth.

8:00 AM: On the starting line to start practice. Surprisingly, after one year of not being on a bike (Wow! How time flies!), I am not very nervous. I finished pretty strong, feeling good, pumped up to be racing again.

12:00 PM: I have finished two races (one with guys, one with other women), 8-10 laps each on a pretty long, fast-paced track. I tipped over twice in two different corners. Stupid move, but again, its been a while. I held my own though and finished 2nd in one of my races.

2:00 PM: Finished my second "guys" race. Tipped over twice in that one race! Duh, what a rookie move! My body is so sore...my butt bones and inner thighs are raw, my spine feels like it has been compressed two inches, my shoulders and forearms (and entire upper body) are so sore I can barley lift my arms. It is amazing how out of shape you can get when not racing frequently...I felt like a grandma, but I still had one more race.

4:00 PM: Had my second"women" race. I got a bad start but quickly moved to second. Started gaining on the girl in first. Almost fell, but fought it with all my might and kept myself on two wheels! Yes! Ignored all my aches and pains and pushed myself. Got right on her back tire about four corners before the finish line, but still could not make the pass. Finished 2nd.

4:30 PM: Picked up my trophy and hit the road for home.

It was a very fun, spontaneous (according to my standards) day. It felt good "to be back." I wasn't planning on such a physical beating, but it got me prepared for my next race this weekend in Mesquite. Hopefully I won't still be walking like a granny by this time next week. :)

Thanks, Jaks, for all your help in getting everything ready. I owe it to you!

Posting...

2010-03-04T23:52:00.000-08:00

There is so much that happens that I don't blog about (Duh, in case you haven't noticed, we only blog about three times a year). I always feel like I am way to behind to post anything new. So, I am going to turn over a new leaf and blog...even if I have missed a couple holidays or events...even if it is only a quick thought...or a link to a favorite website...

So here goes...

Jaks and I are leaving to Paris in 26 days!

We still haven't found a house...ugh

I am training for the Ragnar, a 200-mile relay from Logan to Park city, in June. I love running with my beautiful friends all the time! They are all amazing gals and push me so much each time we run.

I feel like an old lady today. My knees hurt and my hips feel like they need to pop. I actually stood up a couple minutes ago to try to "pop" them (I am working a night shift at the hospital) and got a really weird look from the nurse sitting next to me. Some might say that my way of popping my hips might resemble a dog peeing on a fire hydrant. :)

Jaks and I just bought tickets to go to the Stadium of Fire this year. Carrie Underwood is performing!!!!!! And three of my BFFs and their hubbies are going with us.

I want to go on a lot of vacations this year. To mention a few...Guatemala to visit Jaks' mission; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to stay in a beach house; New York on a "girls' trip"; Lake Powell at least twice; Hawaii would be nice; Vegas for my Mini Moto race; Disney World with the Olsen Clan...and the list goes on...

I am forcing myself to start racing (Motocross) again. Its not that I don't want to race, it is just so hard to find the time to race. I am pleased to say that me and Jaks have a date Saturday to go practicing. Hope it goes well because I am racing next week in Mesquite. :)

Christmas joy...and tears...

2009-12-26T03:44:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe Christmas has already come and gone. Time

is just flying by! This Christmas was not only one of the best, but also one of the worst(--some could say I'm being mellow-dramatic). I was scheduled to work a night shift on Christmas Eve and Christmas night. But despite my endless hopes and prayers that I would be put on call, or just canceled, so I could spend the holidays with my one-and-only, I had to work. Not just one of the shifts, but both of the shifts. :( What I am ultimately trying to get at through all of these uninteresting details is how much I love and appreciate Jaks. He is the light of my life. The hardest part of even working over the holiday was having to leave him. I teared up (hence the name of the post) both times. He means so much to me, and I could not possibly imagine life without him.

On a lighter note, Christmas was so much fun! While I slept, Jaks went to his parents' house for breakfast and to see his family. Bummed I couldn't be there to spend time with everyone on that side of the family. When he got home, he woke me up and we opened stockings. Jaks always gets me the coolest stocking stuffers, like a gift certificate to the spa for a massage and mani/pedi, while I get him awesome things like gushers and fruit-by-the-foots. And, last year I totally forgot about stockings until Christmas Eve and had nothing to put in Jaks'. Sorry, love, two bad stocking years in a row! We spent some time with my family opening presents, playing with Nixon, and enjoying dinner with Grandma Jenson and Great-Grandma Pearl. We did things a little different this year following the passing of my Grandpa Jenson last month. It turned out great, and we were so glad to have the two grandmas come up to my parents' house. Here are a few highlights from the holiday!

I loved our tree this year!

My cute mom and dad

My favorite gift of all...Jaks got us plane tickets to Paris for next May!!!!!!

The love of my life!

Great-Grandma Pearl...96 years old! Can you believe it?

Grandma Jenson

Jaks and Julie...I think this is the fifth time EVER that they have hugged!

We got dad Pieps for snowmobiling (a tracking system for avalanches) and all he did for an hour was track his way through the house to the hidden Piep. He's a funny guy!

Julie with Nixon on his first Christmas

My BFF

Hanging out at Mom and Dad's

Opening presents

Frosting cookies with the Olsens on Christmas Eve

Jaks helped by writing our name on our plate :)

Curtis is so funny; Quinton with a book...way to familiar

Brody licked the knife after each time he added frosting to a cookie

Our newest niece, Maddison Bailee Olsen. She makes 11 on the Olsen side.

The Killers

2009-09-27T17:51:00.000-07:00

So, last night Jaks and I were leaving work to go do lighting surveys (for those of you who don't know what that entails...it is pretty much driving around at night and looking at my customer's properties so my lighting guys can go make the necessary repairs), when we got a text from my brother-in-law saying something about The Killers concert that he was at. We were both bummed that we didn't know about it because we would have loved to go - Jaks is a HUGE Killers fan! Anyway, he told us he didn't think it was sold out yet and that they wouldn't be on stage for another 30 minutes. Once we found that out, we changed our route and went straght to the E Center!
It was an awesome concert! Not only did the band sound amazing, but the crowd around us was hilarious! We had a jazzy two rows behind us spinning circles as the owner/operator grooved to the music, a drunk guy the row behind us that was dancing uncontrolably (with beer in his hand, spilling all over the girls in front of him, and then flipping them money as his apology), and then two "nerdy" high school sweethearts to the right of us (both sporting Killers tees) and rocking out with the funniest arm movements and head bangs. They sounded so good live. The only bummer...they didn't play my favorite "Romeo and Juliette" song. Best song! Look it up on itunes. It was a very entertaining and spontaneous night!

Cannot believe it!!!

2009-06-12T19:39:00.000-07:00

Look at that smile. He is a stud!

I seriously cannot believe I can say this now, but Jaks and I are both officially college graduates! It seemed like the longest four years of our lives, but we did it. Because of our differences in personalities, I think college was a lot harder for me than it might have been for Jaks. He is a laid back, easy-going, happy-go-luck type that would remember he had a test and study for a couple hours the morning before. On the other hand, I am a super anal perfectionist that can't maintain my sanity unless I have studied and precisely remember every fact of the 387 pages from the text book and 154 power point slides that I am "responsible for knowing" and that is "fair game" on our next weekly exam. I truly wish I could have been the Jaks-type student that still enjoyed life to its fullest even though he was bombarded with deadlines and stressful times as well.
Although it seemed brutal, I am so glad that we both have that under our belt. It was worth it. I am also so glad that we were able to graduate together, same college, same commencement ceremony. It was so fun to enjoy that memorable event together, sharing a sigh of relief that we can finally move on to the next stage in our lives.....which we haven't quite figured out yet!:)

Jaks, Jenica, and Jerok (my cousin)

Jenica, Juleen, Jen, and Melissa (My friends from school!---inside joke, sorry)

Birthday

2008-09-14T16:19:00.000-07:00

My birthday was last wednesday, and it was awesome. I had the family come to my office for some cheesecake. Then Jen and I ate lunch at Pei Wei. After my class ended, I raced home to start opening gifts. I got the usual clothes, and ties. After that, I was escorted outside with my eyes closed. I was really freaked out about what my next gift was. When I opened my eyes I saw the biggest nicest bike I had ever laid my eyes on. Below are some pictures to help visualize my present.

My amazing wife bought this bike for me so we could go riding together. It's a KX 450 F. It is a lot of bike and has a lot of power. We actually went out riding on Saturday at the track in Tooele. I almost forgot, she also bought me this freaking awesome helmet. The rest of the pictures are below.

People

2008-09-04T20:52:00.001-07:00

I am really into taking pictures of people with my phone. I see so many funny things that I wish I would have a camera built in my finger or something because taking pictures of funny things is great. I have a few picture that I have taken, but I will only do one at a time, so you better keep checking back to see what other funny picture I have taken.

This is a picture of a mini van that was sitting in front of us downtown. I don't think you can see the humor in it now, but if you look at the following picture, you will see why we had a good laugh... Yes, this license plate actually says, MOM INC. Now you have to admit that is a classic picture.

School

2008-09-04T20:25:00.001-07:00

So Jenica and I started school this last week, and it pretty much consumes our lives. Jenica already has a test tomorrow, and my first one isn't for about 2 weeks. I am very stoked to be done with school after this December, but I am already feeling baggy (common missionary term used to describe a person that is close to the end and don't feel like finishing strong). I turned in my graduation papers today, and that didn't help the "baggyness." Jenica is doing her clinicals at Copper Hills Youth Center. She mainly deals with female sex offenders. They are there because they were abused themselves, and so thinking that sexual abuse was acceptable, these girls abused others. It is some heavy material, and sad to hear about, but she is in group therapy sessions with them to help them straighten out their lives.

There is nothing else really happening in our lives because we are consumed by thing known as school. However if something exciting happens we will be sure to take pictures of it, and make a new post like out fellow bloggers.

Costa Rica

2008-08-02T20:48:00.000-07:00

So, all I have wanted to do my whole life is travel and see the world. And vacation by vacation, I am hoping to do so! Jaks and I (along with Justin and Miranda) just got back from Costa Rica. It was an amazing country, not only beautiful and romantic, but super adventurous and fun. We traveled around to many parts of the country, changing hotels about every couple day. We stayed watched lava rocks fly from the crater of an active volcano, flew across the Monte Verde rainforest on a zip line, surfed on the country's best waves in Jaco, and jet-skied through the ocean...and saw a huge mama whale swimming with her baby! It was amazing! Jaks was especially helpful with his Spanish skills. We could not have navigated our way through the nine days we were there without him!

Blogging

2008-06-18T07:46:00.000-07:00

Since blogging has become the greatest thing since velcro, vanilla coke, and the invention of the hawaii chair. Jenica and I have decided to join the rest of the world, and express ourselves using the world wide web. Yes, now we are hip and cool just like our younger counterparts.